SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR PROVIDING INTERACTIVE VIDEO SERVICES

• US 20100195623A1
• Filed: 01/29/2010
• Published: 08/05/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: YinzCam Incorporated
• Original Assignee: YinzCam Incorporated
• Inventors: Gandhi, Rajeev, Narasimhan, Priya
• Granted Patent: US 9,137,495 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/332
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/38 Arrangements for distribution where lower stations, e.g. receivers, interact with the broadcast
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/57 for mobile receivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/63 to plural spots in a confined site, e.g. MATV [Master Antenna Television]
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/92 for local area
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/613 for the control of the source by the destination control signals issued by the client directed to the server or network components specially adapted for selective content distribution H04N21/637
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/765 intermediate
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2143 located in a single building, e.g. hotel, hospital or museum arrangements specially adapted for plural spots in a confined site in broadcast systems H04H20/63; adaptations for transmission by electric cable for domestic distribution in television systems H04N7/106
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/21805 enabling multiple viewpoints, e.g. using a plurality of cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2187 Live feed
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2225 Local VOD servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234363 by altering the spatial resolution, e.g. for clients with a lower screen resolution
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2393 involving handling client requests scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25875 involving end-user authentication restricting access to computer systems by authenticating users using a predetermined code G06F21/33; arrangements for secret or secure communication including means for verifying the identity or authority of a user of the system H04L9/32; networks authentication protocols H04L63/08; authentication in wireless network security H04W12/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41265 having a remote control device for bidirectional communication between the remote control device and client device unidirectional remote control device H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41407 embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/437 Interfacing the upstream path of the transmission network, e.g. for transmitting client requests to a VOD server flow control in data networks H04L47/10; streaming protocols, e.g. RTP or RTCP, H04L65/65; scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests in data packet switching networks H04L67/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4524 involving the geographical location of the client retrieval from the Internet by querying based on geographical locations G06F16/9537; systems specially adapted for using geographical information in broadcast systems H04H60/70; protocols in which the network application is adapted for the location of the user terminal in communication control or processing H04L67/52; services making use of the location of users or terminals in wireless networks H04W4/02; locating users or terminals in wireless networks H04W64/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4722 for requesting additional data associated with the content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 : Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4886 : for displaying a ticker, e.g. scrolling banner for news, stock exchange, weather data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6131 : involving transmission via a mobile phone network wireless downlink channel access H04W74/006
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6181 : involving transmission via a mobile phone network arrangements for providing broadcast or conference services to substation in data switching networks in combination with wireless systems H04L12/189; wireless uplink channel access H04W74/004
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64322 : IP
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8133 : specifically related to the content, e.g. biography of the actors in a movie, detailed information about an article seen in a video program
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 : Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 : for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

An apparatus includes a plurality of content sources providing content relevant to an event at a venue, one or more wireless access points positioned at the venue, a plurality of servers distributing the content signals to the wireless access points, and a plurality of wireless communication devices, each using a browser to retrieve the content through one of the wireless access points. A method performed by the apparatus is also provided.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a plurality of content sources providing content relevant to an event at a venue;

one or more wireless access points positioned at the venue;

a plurality of servers distributing the content signals to the wireless access points; and

a plurality of wireless communication devices, each using a browser to retrieve the content through one of the wireless access points.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the wireless communication devices comprise Wi-Fi enabled devices.

3. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the content sources comprise one or more of:

a control room;

a camera array;

a venue broadcast;

a venue display; and

a non-video source.

4. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the servers comprise one or more of:

a streaming video/audio server;

a video-on-demand server;

a non-video services server; and

a miscellaneous services server.

5. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a format converter for converting content to a format usable by a browser.

6. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each wireless communication device is associated with one of the wireless access points and receives signals therefrom.

7. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the wireless access points exchange information with each other and using a distributed protocol and determine which of the wireless communication devices will receive content from the wireless access points.

8. An apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the distributed protocol uses signal strength to determine which of the wireless communication devices will receive content from the wireless access points.

9. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an authentication server.

10. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the wireless communication devices access one content signal at a time.

11. A method comprising:

receiving content relevant to an event at a venue from a plurality of content sources;

distributing the content to a plurality of wireless access points at the venue; and

using browsers in a plurality of wireless communication devices to receive content through one of the wireless access points.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the wireless communication devices comprise Wi-Fi enabled devices.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the content sources comprise one or more of:

a control room;

a camera array;

a venue broadcast;

a venue display; and

a non-video source.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the content is received by one or more of:

a streaming video/audio server;

a video-on-demand server;

a non-video services server; and

a miscellaneous services server.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

exchanging information among the wireless access points and using a distributed protocol and determine which of the wireless communication devices will receive content from the wireless access points.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the distributed protocol uses signal strength to determine the wireless access point that is to be accessed by one of the wireless communication devices.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the comparison of signal strengths occurs after the signal strength falls at one of the wireless access points below a threshold value.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

maintaining communication with a wireless access point until confirmation of a successful handoff is made.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein each wireless communication device coordinates its own handoff by measuring signal strength and requesting an association with a wireless access point having the largest measured signal strength.

20. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

converting the content to a format usable by a browser.